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choice principle
Holger Diessel
holger.diessel@uni-jena.de
Sinclair 1991
The corpus linguist John Sinclair introduced the distinction between ‘the
idiom principle’ and the ‘open choice principle’.
The open choice principle “is a way of seeing language text as the
result of a very large number of complex choices. At each point
where a unit is completed—a word or a phrase or a clause—a larger
range of choice ends up, and the only restraint is grammaticalness.”
[from Moon 1998: 28]
Definition of prefab:
Grammatical Functional
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
lexical grammatical pragmatic reducible
spoken written
Erman and Warren 2000
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
lexical grammatical pragmatic reducible
spoken written
Erman and Warren 2000
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
lexical grammatical pragmatic reducible
spoken written
Erman and Warren 2000
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
lexical grammatical pragmatic reducible
spoken written
Erman and Warren 2000
Clause structures
That doesn’t wash
Where have you been?
I’ve got to run.
Don’t worry (be happy).
Emerging prefabs
to waste time
to waste effort
to waste money
to waste words
Lexical prefabs
Drive sb ___
Determiners: so ein
Proforms: der da
Introducers: es gibt
Auxiliaries: wird schon
Prepositions: in der Nähe von
Conjunctions: unter der Bedingung dass
Intensifiers: mehr oder weniger
Pragmatic prefabs
Text monitors
Discourse markers: and finally, as I said, I mean, the thing is that
Turn regulators: well you know, you see, well I think
Repair markers: I mean, you know, well you know
Social monitors
Interactives: hasn’t she? wouldn’t you? you see what I mean
Feedback signals: I see, well no, suppose so
Hesitations: what’s the word, I mean, you know
Responses: yes I think so, well no, yes I see
Performatives: thank you, good luck, why don’t you
Metalinguistic monitors
Hedges: sort of, or somewhere, and all this
Epistemological signals: I must say, I think, I should think
Reducibles
Holger Diessel
holger.diessel@uni-jena.de
Erman and Warren 2000
Lexical Functional
prefabs prefabs
Grammatical Pragmatic
Reducible
Social Text
monitors monitors
Metalinguistic
monitors
Moon 1998
informational organizational
evaluative modalizing
situational
Informational prefabs
(1) go for it
(2) good luck
(3) no problem
(4) so long
(5) long time no see
Modalizing prefabs
(1) as we know it
(2) in effect
(3) at any price
(4) I mean
(5) just trust me
Organizational prefabs
Type Frequency
informational 41%
evaluative 38%
situational 5%
modalizing 10%
organization 6%